


i take a risk when i try to be understood

by ShippingEverything



Series: got time to make mistakes [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Dialogue Heavy, Gen, Gryffindor Albus Severus Potter, Slytherin Scorpius Malfoy, bc i wrote this Very Late at night in one sitting after listening to a cc boot, moaning myrtle is a good friend bc shes Friend Shaped and also bc i said so, scorpius malfoy has never Not been a little bit in love w albus in any universe, the only au i care about is cursed child alt universe 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-07-02 18:15:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15801963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShippingEverything/pseuds/ShippingEverything
Summary: Scorpius meets Albus Severus Potter in second year, when he’s hiding in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom during what should be his History of Magic block.Or: In another universe, where Albus Severus Potter got onto the train with his cousin Panju and sat with his family during his first train ride to Hogwarts, his first meeting with Scorpius Malfoy is different.





	i take a risk when i try to be understood

**Author's Note:**

> it took a Lot of self restraint to not name this "its familiar (but not too familiar)" and you should all applaud me for it. anyway as always i Love scorpius malfoy and i love the first cc "canon" alternate universe so heres more soft pre-slash so these boys
> 
> title from Lo-Fi Children by Wild Party bc i do what i want

Scorpius spends a lot of time in the first floor girl’s bathroom; during breaks, after classes, even sometimes if he wakes up in the middle of the night and feels up to sneaking out. Everyone else avoids the bathroom like the plague because of Myrtle, but really, she’s not that bad (Then again, Myrtle has told Scorpius that she likes him because he looks like his dad _and_ because she thinks he looks nearly as sad as her, which is… not inspiring, exactly, but could _definitely_ be worse).

Regardless, she’s better company than the other students; _anything_ beats being called the Son Of Voldemort over and over again all day long.

Which brings Scorpius to his current situation: sitting in the bathroom and pretending he wasn’t just crying as Myrtle tuts over him.

“Kids are cruel,” Myrtle says softly. Scorpius laughs humorlessly.

“They’re awful.” He doesn’t usually skip class, his classes are the only things that keep him going some days, but the other kids are just _awful_ sometimes, and someone had jinxed his bag in the halls, and they’d written on his trunk again, and he couldn’t find the essay that was due today despite the fact that he’d double- and triple-checked that it was there before he left his dorm, and-

Scorpius feels himself tearing up again.

“Now, now,” Myrtle says in what Scorpius supposes is supposed to be a comforting voice, “The only person allowed to cry in here is me.”

“I’m not crying,” Scorpius says, resolutely, as he scrubs at his eyes with his jumper sleeves. “I’m fine.”

“Of course you are,” Myrtle agrees, but it’s not convincing. _That’s fair though,_ Scorpius thinks, _I wasn’t convincing either_.

He sniffles once. “I had hoped this year would be different.”

“Don’t give up that easily, it’s not even winter break yet,” Myrtle says, “It could still be different.”

“All the others think I’m the devil incarnate,” Scorpius counters, “What am I supposed to do, Myrtle, conjure a friend out of midair?”

“Well, I don't know,” Myrtle sniffs delicately, “I've been dead for longer than your father’s been alive, I certainly can't help you find friends. I just think talking to someone living would do you some good. Moping alone all the time has never done anyone any good.”

“I'm not alone,” Scorpius argues, but then flounders for a few seconds as he tries to recall someone, anyone besides his own parents, who’s there for him. For a lack of anything else, he weakly finishes with, “I have you.”

Myrtle rolls her eyes. He sighs deeply.

“What would you have me do, go up to a stranger who probably already doesn’t like me and offer them some chocolates? Embarrass myself by tripping over my words and generally being…” Scorpius trails off, gesturing a hand towards the whole of his body. _Being me_ , is what he's thinking, but even in his head it sounds a little too sad to say aloud. He shakes his head, dispelling the thoughts. “No, I'm fine. I don't need friends, I'm Malfoy the competent, Malfoy the self-sufficient, Malfoy the-”

“Lonely?”

Scorpius scowls at Myrtle’s watery apparition. “Shove off. No one asked you.”

Myrtle huffs and says “Fine then!” disappearing down the pipes the way she always does when she gets frustrated with or tired of him.

“No, come on, _Myrtle_ , I didn't mean- Eugh!” Scorpius leans into the sink to yell into the pipe, but gets sprayed with water for his trouble. He sighs again as he leans back and prepares to cast a spell to dry himself off. _Even the ghost who’s literally trapped in this bathroom wants you to go away_.

“You're not supposed to be in here,” A voice behind him says, and Scorpius jumps.

When he turns around, many thoughts flash through his head. The first is _That's Albus Severus Potter!_ , followed by _He really_ does _look just like his dad_ , and _I wonder if mum still has those pictures of me dressed up like Harry Potter? Merlin, I hope not._

“I, uh,” Scorpius says, stuttering and cursing himself for it, “What?”

“You’re not supposed to be in here. Besides the fact that it’s the girl’s bathroom, McGonagall said no one was allowed in Moani-”

“ _Don’t call her that_ ,” Scorpius hisses, cutting Albus off with a nervous look toward the sink Myrtle went into. “Her name is _just_ Myrtle, she’s sensitive about it, and you’re technically in her bathroom so-”

“Exactly. Her bathroom, which is off limits to students,” Albus says, raising an eyebrow at Scorpius. “What are you doing here, then?”

Scorpius is pretty sure that he could ask the same of Albus, but Albus is scowling and his eyes look very intense and it’s overall quite the daunting sight (That’s a Gryffindor for you, Scorpius supposes). “I was just… keeping Myrtle company.”

Albus raises an eyebrow. “So you’re soaking wet and she’s not here… because you’re keeping her company.”

Scorpius feels his face heat up, and curses his pallid complexion. “She’s just in the pipes. I upset her a bit, but she’ll calm down in just a second, like how she usually does.”

“Usually?”

“Uh, yeah,” Scorpius replies, stuttering again. He can’t even be mad at himself this time because, see, _the thing is_ , people talk about Harry Potter’s eyes--about how strikingly green they are, how they’re his mother’s, how they blazed as he faced off with Voldemort for the last time--but no one mentions how incredibly _flustering_ it can be to be pinned under the piercing gaze of a pair of bottle-green eyes. Then again, that might just be an Albus thing; the _brooding and scowling_ act seems to be an Albus Severus Potter exclusive, maybe this is too. After all, Scorpius certainly knows that his heart has never beat like this when he sees Harry Potter sheepishly posing in his chocolate frog cards. “I guess I come in here fairly often.”

Albus just stares at Scorpius for a bit, narrowing his eyes a little. Eventually he cocks his head to the side. “Why? What do you get out of it?”

“What?”

“What do you get out of it?” Albus asks again, enunciating like he thinks Scorpius is dumb--which is, honestly, uncalled for. “You’re a Slytherin, right? You have the tie for it, at least.”

“I- Am _I_ a Slytherin?” Scorpius looks at Albus incredulously, and it’s at this moment that he realizes that _Albus doesn’t know who he is_. The only blank slate in school, the only person who doesn’t know him as “Deatheater’s son” or “Voldemort’s child,” and he ruins his first meeting like this. “Yes. I’m a Slytherin.”

“Well, then, what’s in it for you? Doesn’t your lot always want something in exchange?”

Scorpius’ hackles raise. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I just meant that-”

“You couldn’t imagine me just doing something nice because I’m a Slytherin?” Scorpius snaps, before he can really think about it or stop himself. Albus looks appropriately cowed and Scorpius sighs. The fight leaves him quickly, allowing embarrassment to set in; he’s standing here, in wet robes, with his eyes puffy and probably red, and he just snapped at _Albus Severus Potter_. _This whole day is an utter disaster._ “I’m-”

“I’m sorry.” Albus interrupts. His scowl has evolved into a full on frown, complete with a wrinkle between his eyebrows., but he doesn’t meet Scorpius’ eyes. “My mum’s always talking about not judging books by their covers, and I shouldn’t have assumed that just because-” Albus cuts himself off, shaking his head and looking up, nailing Scorpius to his spot with those eyes again. “I shouldn’t have said that. It doesn’t matter why you hang around with Myrtle.”

Scorpius blinks a few times, a bit shocked by the turn. Albus’ normal scowl returns, but Scorpius can see now where the mask meets the man, how the shape of his eyebrows looks just a bit nervous.

“Apology accepted,” Scorpius says, eventually. “And I’m sorry as well, I shouldn’t have snapped like that.”

Albus nods, quiet for a moment. Then he says, “So… why _do_ you hang out in Moa- Myrtle’s bathroom?”

“Loads of reasons. She’s nice company, for one.” Scorpius bites his lip, considering his next words, “And, well, moping around alone can’t be good for anyone. Even if you’re still sad, it’s got to be better when you’re with someone else than if you were alone.”

Scorpius is, of course, talking about himself--he spent a lot of time crying alone first year (in his dorm, in random alcoves in the Castle, in the library), and he can say without a doubt that, even if he’s with the most melodramatic ghost in the Castle, having someone else there to at least attempt at comfort makes him feel a little less miserable and a lot less pathetic--but he sees Albus react to the words as well. For just a second, the scowl drops, and Scorpius sees another confused, lost kid. He realizes, then, that Albus Severus Potter isn’t some imposing celebrity, some untouchable idol. He’s a kid, just like Scorpius. Scorpius takes a deep breath, steeling himself, and then says, “Would you like to join me, sometimes? Obviously you’re already here right now, but I mean, you could do this again? Like I said, Myrtle’s nice enough, if you’re nice to her, and I always bring snacks... If you haven’t got anything better to do, that is.”

Albus examines him again. The line between his eyebrows grows slightly. He huffs and shakes his head, and Scorpius almost thinks Albus is annoyed with him until he turns back to Scorpius, the ghost of a smile on his face. “I think I’ll take you up on that, actually.”

**Author's Note:**

> there are a lot of questions unanswered in this fic like:  
> \- what class is albus skipping? (its transfiguration)  
> \- why did albus come to the bathroom?  
> \- was this all myrtles plan?  
> and tbh thats the way i want my fics to be. 
> 
> thanks so so much for reading! i hope you enjoyed this! Comments, kudos, bookmarks, etc are greatly appreciated  
>  
> 
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